Barsoom

 

A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

The first of 13 books introduces us to John Carter, a Civil War vetern, that one day wakes up on Mars. The Martians refer to their planet as Barsoom and John meets two different races on the planet service the more alien Tharks and the more humanoid Heliumites. John learns that since his muscles are used to the more dense gravity of Earth he is sort of a superman here on Mars. The story is fun if a little sexist in parts due to its age being first published in 1912.

Princess of Mars (2009)

They modernized this version. Instead of the Civil War, this John Carter is from the Afghanistan conflict. When he is wounded he is teleported to Barsoom which in this version is not Mars but a planet in the Alpha Centauri stellar system. The story then proceeds pretty close to the original book.

John Carter (2012)

A more direct adaption of the original book but with an explanation for how John got to the planet that makes so much more sense than one day I woke up on Mars. They were setting this up for a franchise but since it was a bomb, Disney decided not to continue. I am disappointed about this because I really enjoyed the movie. Personally I think it was poor marketing on their part. 1. Their major tagline was “a movie a hundred years in the making.” 2. It was released the same weekend as the Hunger Games. 

Queen of the World by LuthienTauriel

 

One of mine. This takes place after the events of the movie Jupiter Ascending. It is essentially an epilogue where Caine and Jupiter get married. Just a little bit of fluff, but one I enjoyed writing. Just so you know I have recently increased my privacy settings on my fanfic page to cut down on the people who are trying to scam me into paying for fan art that I have not commissioned.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/56116738/chapters/142539508

X Men: The Animated Series (1992-1997)

 

To be honest I don’t remember a lot of this series. I just remember that this was my first introduction to the X Men and that I really liked Storm. I need to rewatch it and I suggest everyone else does too! 

Megamind (2010)

 

Megamind is an alien who was sent to earth as a baby. He landed in a prison where he was raised by the inmates there and begins a life of crime. When his arch nemesis Metro Man seemingly dies, Megamind tries desperately to find another arch nemesis to defeat him but it doesn’t go well. Megamind needs to figure out if he has what it takes to be the hero for once. 

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

 

The story starts in 2011 when they find Steve Rogers’ frozen body in the Arctic. The story then proceeds to introduce us to Steve. A scrawny young man with asthma who dearly wants to go to war because he doesn’t like bullies. I loved how they made it the 1940’s and then proceeded to play with Steve’s outdated ideals for the rest of the franchise. Really one of the best of the Marvel films. 

Voyagers (1982-1983)

 

In 1982, time traveler Phineas Bogg accidently teleports into the home of Jeffery Jones’ home. Bogg’s job is to fix history and restore the timeline when things go wrong. Bogg loses his guidebook that tells him how history is supposed to go so Jones, whose father had been a history professor, ends up traveling with Bogg and helping to correct history because he knows what’s supposed to happen. It was a great show and really ended far too soon. 

Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022)

 

This show takes place about six years after the events of Revenge of the Sith and stars Ewan McGregor once again as Kenobi. Kenobi at this point is a very broken man. He can’t reach his master. Owen and Beru won’t let him within ten feet of Luke. And he believes he killed his brother (and he kind of did and kind of didn’t). But then Bail contacts him and tells him that Leia has been kidnapped which forces this old Jedi master to leave Tattoine and perhaps find himself in the process…

There are rumors of a second season, but nothing currently set in stone. 

Godzilla Vs. Kong (2021)

The fourth film in the Monsterverse finds Godzilla setting off against King Kong to see who will be the King of the Monsters. Godzilla seems to be on some sort of rampage that the scientists can’t explain. Meanwhile, Apex has asked Monarch scientists to help them find a source of power in the Hollow Earth. They use Kong to find the entrance to the Hollow earth. Meanwhile Madison from the previous movie is trying to find out why Godzilla is attacking. It doesn’t have much plot. But the monsters destroy cities and at the end of the day that’s all I want…

 

Fire and Flood by SerenLyall

 

Essentially this is an episode of Stargate that the creators never made. And a good one too. They go to a planet. Jack is not having a good day. Spilling his coffee. Rain. Sam getting attacked by a lion creature. A very good story. Unfortunately it is unfinished so if that is going to bug you, you might not want to start this one. 

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13586543/1/fire-and-flood

The Search for Spock (1984)

 

At the end of The Wrath of Khan, the crew of the Enterprise gave Spock a burial in space and his coffin fell on the new planet of Genesis. When they get back to Starfleet they realize that according to Vulcan burial customs they messed up and against orders they go back to Genesis to retrieve the body. But somehow the strange planet has brought Spock back to life…

The Shadow by James Patterson and Brian Sitts

 

This novel is based off the classic serial of the same name. In the 1930’s Lamont Cranston aka the Shadow and his girlfriend, Margo Lane are ambushed and left for dead by Cranston’s archnemesis Shiwan Khan. Dying Lane and Cranston enter into a cryochamber to await a day where they might be saved. Flash forward to over a century later and teenager Maddy Gomes inherits something very strange, Cranston’s and Lane’s cyrochambers. And in this dystopian future where Khan’s legacy can still be felt, only the Shadow can possibly hope to defeat him. One thing I appreciate about Patterson is that he always gives his ghost writers credit for their work. Yes, his name might be front and center, but their names are still there. 

Farscape (1999-2003)

 

American astronaut John Crichton flies into a wormhole and ends up in a distant part of the universe. He is picked up by fugitives from a corrupt military organization called the Peacekeepers. They all live on their sentient ship Moya. There are several plot points such as Crichton’s search for a way home and outrunning the Peacekeepers. The creatures were all created by Jim Henson. Overall an enjoyable scifi adventure.   

The Lost World by Michael Crichton

Very different from the movie, Ian Malcolm and a group of fellow scientists go to Site B to research the dinosaurs that are left on the island. Dino mayhem ensues. It is a great book. 
 

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

 

A long time ago, a Prime violated the rules and built a star harvester on Earth. He became “the Fallen” the first Decepticon. Back in the present day, Sam Witwicky is going a little crazy because he held an All Spark shard. Both the Decipticons and the Autobots believe that the symbols that Sam has been seeing could lead to a new source of Energon source. Then of course they have to fight the Fallen that has been revived by Megatron. It is a fun romp. 

20 Million Miles to Earth (1957)

 

One of Ray HarryHausen’s creature features, this tells the story of a trip to Venus goes horribly wrong. The astronauts crash land off the coast of Sicily and on board is a small alien creature. Our atmosphere soon makes the creature to grow gigantic and he goes on a rampage throughout Italy and must be stopped. A fun fact: HarryHausen reused the model for the 1981 movie Clash of the Titans. 

    

War Games (1983)

In this scientific romp, the government builds a supercomputer to control all their military operations. Thinking that he is hacking into a new game system, teenager David, accidently starts a nuclear war and has to stop the computer before things get out of control. A fun movie even if the tech is outdated at this point. 

 

Jules Verne

 In the original books of Jules Verne, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Mysterious Island, and In Search of the Castaways are all part of the same universe. Of these three books I have only read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Mysterious Island although In Search of the Castaways is on my to read list.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

This is the book in which the world was first introduced to the antihero Captain Nemo and his fantastical submarine, the Nautilus. The story follows Professor Pierre Aronnax, Ned Land, and Conseil who are sent to destroy the Nautilus, which they believe at the time to be a sea monster. When they climb into the sub they learn its true nature and go on adventures with Nemo. There is a movie adaptation from 1954 that I have never seen.

Mysterious Island

I have seen quite a few versions of Mysterious Island which is why the book surprised me so much. It takes place during the American Civil War. Cyrus Smith, Neb, Bonadventure Pencroff, Harbert Brown, Gedeon Spillett escape a southern prisoner of war camp and land on a “mysterious island.” There they meet a character from In Search of the Castaways and Captain Nemo. I was waiting the entire book for the giant monsters I had come to expect from Mysterious Island but I guess the “mysterious” part of the book came from the fact that they could find everything on this island from tobacco to nitroglycerin. There are several movie adaptations, but this blog post will only cover the ones that I have actually seen.

Mysterious Island (1961)

A movie with special effects by Ray HarryHausen, one of the best special effects geniuses at all time. This seems to be one of the first adaptations to feature the giant monsters. We also introduce women onto the island so that the young people can have a romance. The movie is a fun science fiction romp. 

Mysterious Island (2005)

In this version Captain Nemo is played by Patrick Stewart and has a much more prominent role than in the previous one. In fact he can be a little whiny when the others do not immediately fall into his plans. A good version though.

Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island (2010)

In this version the mysterious island is in the Bermuda Triangle and acts as some sort of time trap. Our characters from the original story crash land here but so do two women from modern day. They all need to find a way to escape the triangle and get back to the real world. 

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

A sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008), teenager Sean Anderson is back. With his stepfather, Hank they travel to the Mysterious Island that they learn is a combination of Treasure Island, Gulliver’s Travels and Mysterious Island. It is a modern retelling but like the earlier film, tells us that the events of the original 1874 novel happened in the past and this is more of a sequel. A good twist on the tale.

In Search of the Castaways (1962)

When Professor Paganel finds a message in a bottle from missing Captain John Grant, he and Grant’s two teenage children approach Grant’s boss Lord Glenarvan in order to try to find him. They then go on an epic quest to attempt to find Captain Grant. The film starred Hayley Mills and was always one of my favorite movies. 

Having a Party by LuthienTauriel

 

A one shot that takes place after Steve has gone back in time to spend the rest of his life with Peggy. Essentially their daughter comes in afraid of the thunder and Steve tells her that she shouldn’t be afraid. That it’s just her Uncle Thor having a party. Just a cute fluff piece. 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/54670636

Fantastic Four (1967-1968)

 

I used to watch this on Boomerang and was my first introduction to the Fantastic Four. One episode that stood out to me is that in one episode Ben can look human again but it comes at a price. It’s been years so I don’t really remember what that price was. I was always most sorry for the Thing. The rest of them could look human if they wanted, but he couldn’t. A decent enough show in the Marvel canon if you can find it. 

Lilo and Stitch (2002)

 

Experiment 626 crash lands on Hawaii after escaping his exile on a deserted asteroid. He is adopted by Lilo who thinks he is a dog. She names him Stitch. Alien shenanigans ensue as the aliens attempt to reclaim Stitch and send him back to his asteroid. An adorable movie with a strong message about family.